Vin Guard The proud wine tradition of France’s Beaujolais region.

From easy-drinking drops to exceptional vintages, the Beaujolais region upholds a noble winemaking tradition, writes Toni Paterson.

The French wine region of Beaujolais, just north of Lyon, is best known for red wines produced from the gamay grape or, more correctly, gamay noir à jus blanc. This is a highly perfumed variety with a mix of red and black fruits, and floral tones.

France has a system for protecting quality known as the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée, or AOC, which is equivalent to Appellation d’Origine Protégée (AOP) in EU terminology or Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) in English. There are 12 AOCs in Beaujolais.

Wines labelled AOC Beaujolais can come from anywhere across the 91 communes

(local administrative areas) of this region, although most of the volume comes from the flatter vineyards to the south. A step up in quality is AOC Beaujolais Villages, which is produced from a subset of 38

communes, mostly in the hillier central and northern parts of the region.

Red, white, rosé and nouveau styles can be produced from both these appellations. Beaujolais nouveau is the new wine of the season, bottled after a short maceration period. It’s a pale, perfumed and fruity wine that’s light bodied, easy to drink, and meant to be consumed within a year.

Red table wines from AOC Beaujolais and AOC Beaujolais Villages are weightier than the nouveau style. They’re known for their accessibility, soft tannins and gentle, varietal gamay character.

AOC Beaujolais Villages wines are a considerable progression in quality over the more basic Beaujolais, having greater depth and complexity. With these wines, you may find reference to the specific

commune of origin on the label.

The most serious wines of the region come from 10 distinct AOC areas in the north. Known as the crus of Beaujolais, they’re prized for their unique expression of terroir (soil and climate).